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Some of her vision is becoming clearer. Xbox is planning a major overhaul of Game Pass that would have players choose features à la carte, including add-ons for console-only games, cloud gaming, and multiplayer, with the system operating on a tiered structure, according to people familiar with the strategy.
Sharma also plans to release a next-generation handheld device by the 2027 holiday season and the next console by the holidays in 2028.
She’s planning the next rounds of layoffs for this month, November, and January, people familiar with the plans said, although layoff plans can change. Among the laid-off have been devoted staff members who had worked at Xbox for decades, which could mean a loss of valuable institutional knowledge.
Some employees have appreciated Sharma’s transparency, but the decision to structure the layoffs in several waves has left some staff demoralized, feeling as if they are sitting under a yearlong cloud, waiting to see if their roles will be eliminated next. There have also been some hiccups: Fortune identified at least one Xbox employee who was laid off but then given a chance to stay at the gaming unit.
Tensions ran high enough that a senior Xbox executive threatened to scrap the handheld project rather than adopt the Windows build, according to people briefed on the clash.
Some people familiar with the matter also said engineering deadlines for Project Helix have been moved up by at least several months, putting pressure on development teams to get the work done faster, including by using AI.
Several current and former staff members believe Xbox is being prepped for an eventual sale, spinoff, outside investment, or conversion into a subsidiary.
Sharma has set a long-term goal for Xbox to become one of the few entertainment platforms to reach more than 1 billion people a day. Right now, it has around 100 million daily active users.
As it stands, the price of the Helix console has internally been projected to cost consumers between $1,200 and $1,800, unless Microsoft decides to subsidize the cost.
Si todo esto fuera cierto, básicamente se resumiría en:
1) Se acabaron los videojuegos día uno en Xbox Game Pass (o el que los quiera, deberá asumir una tarifa bastante más elevada) y se crearán diferentes niveles en la suscripción, para "personalizar la experiencia" (lo que traducido en cristiano es un "vamos a subir el importe y para compensar, podrás elegir lo que quieres consumir para aligerar el gasto").
2) Más despidos, sobre todo de gente veterana.
3) Los empleados con un agobio e incertidumbre total por si serán despedidos de un día para otro, lo que afecta a su desempeño.
4) Casi se canceló la videoconsola portatil fruto de discrepancias internas.
5) Supuestamente se han acortado los plazos para distribuir antes Xbox Helix, utilizando IA para acelerar el proceso.
6) A nivel interno existe el pensamiento de que se están acometiendo los pasos necesarios para vender la división.
7) Entre 1.200 y 1.800 dólares costaría Xbox Helix. Si vendieran 10 millones a ese precio, que den palmas con las orejas, que mucho me parecería.